


Quiet Lion

by vixxedfeelings



Category: VIXX
Genre: Fluff and Angst, I love how that's an actual tag oml, Ice Cream, M/M, Sanghyuk Is a Little Shit, shy lil bean Taekwoon, why does tagging ice cream make it sound dirty
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-31
Updated: 2017-01-26
Packaged: 2018-04-18 05:18:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 16,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4693526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vixxedfeelings/pseuds/vixxedfeelings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Why do some strangers linger in our minds long after our paths cross with them? Well, when it comes to Hakyeon's case, whether it's the striking good looks, shy personality or his own curiosity, a certain someone walks among his thoughts more often than he thinks socially acceptable. Turns out the little ice cream shop he works at has brought him more than he could've imagined.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Hakyeon sighed deeply as he stared out at the room full of empty chairs. They had only had a couple people that day, and he didn't really need the new boy's help. But there he was, with his chestnut hair looking particularly ruffled and messy compared to the first time Hakyeon had met him.

"Don't you ever get tempted to eat this stuff?" Sanghyuk, the younger boy, asked from behind. Hakyeon turned around to answer, and he could've sworn he saw his hand jerk out of the sprinkle container. 

"Well, yeah, I think that people who work with any food get tempted to eat it," Hakyeon commented. He tacked on a knowing glare. "But that doesn't mean you should," he scolded. 

Sanghyuk's face grew hot. "Sorry," he mumbled. Hakyeon pressed his lips together guiltily as he turned back around. He'd eaten out of the sprinkle container more than a few times himself, but he wasn't going to tell Hyuk that.

He let himself sigh again. Needless to say, working in a small ice cream shop in a slightly hidden part of the city wasn't the most exciting thing ever. But Hakyeon didn't have too many options at the time.

He was living in a modest little flat with his good friend Wonshik, a little ways away from where he worked. He really couldn't complain; the place was fairly nice and his friend was a caring and kind person. He was also funny, which helped when he was in a bad mood.

Hakyeon jolted, jerked from his daze as the door opened in the first time in what felt like an eternity.

In walked a dark haired young man that didn't look too far from Hakyeon's age. He had a little girl at his side, that held a bit of a resemblance to him. Somehow, his features looked almost feline. He was beautiful, from his bulging childish cheeks and haunting eyes to his smooth, shiny skin and broad shoulders. 

But Hakyeon found his eyes locked on his vibrant lips, that looked so soft they could have been made of marshmallow. He was biting the back of them, so subtly that Hakyeon wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't been staring.

They approached the counter, the little girl skipping. They were the epitome of innocence, and Hakyeon felt overwhelmed by the charismatic vibe they gave off.

Trying to snap out of his trance, he offered them a phrase he had said many times before. "C-Can I get you anything?" He looked away in defeat for a moment at the noticeable stutter. That's when he realized he wasn't the only one choking right then. 

The frankly adorable being in front of him had his mouth wide open, and twitching as if he was trying to speak but his voice was failing him. His previously glowing and graceful looking eyes were wide and clumsy, though they stared straight into Hakyeon's. It looked as if his brain was too busy trying to come up with a reply to make his pupils even twitch.

The little girl stood on her tiptoes so her head would be over the counter before gripping the hand of the struggling man next to her. "We'd like one scoop of vanilla each, in a cup please," she told Hakyeon, with a shining smile he could only describe as angelic and a squeeze of the slightly shaking hand she was holding. 

"Any toppings?" he offered, trying to process what just happened. "No thank you," she responded, lowering back to her normal height as a way of showing she had finished. 

He prepared her request, and the beautiful boy - who Hakyeon realized with a sinking feeling was probably the little girl's father - paid without a single word. 

"Thanks," the sweet girl said before taking him to one of the several empty tables. 

Hakyeon was filled with curiosity as he listened to the girl talking about her day. It was about four, so Hakyeon guessed that he had picked her up from school and they had come here afterwards. 

He could see that his regrettable crush had answered, but his voice was so quiet that he couldn't hear it.

He stared longingly, wishing that he could be a part of their little family. Hakyeon almost reached up and slapped himself at the thought. 

If only he knew his name. He wished he could find out, but he couldn't exactly just ask. 

An idea popped into his mind. He'd make up a nickname for him and refer to him as that in his head. 

He took in his different features, trying to decide what would fit. 

And then it came to him. Leo. His feline features, quiet, shy, kitten-like disposition were complemented perfectly by the nickname, as well as the fact that though he seemed timid, he looked as though he would do all he could to stand up for loved ones. 

Finally, Leo and the little girl stood up, and to Hakyeon's dismay, exited the small building after throwing away the little cups that had previously held their ice cream. "Got a crush?" Sanghyuk commented from behind, making Hakyeon wheel around.

"What gives you that idea?" he protested in an incredulous voice, refusing to make eye contact with Sanghyuk. "That wasn't very convincing."

Hakyeon cringed and bit his lip, still not looking at the ginger haired boy in front of him. "Yeah...I know," he admitted.

"Whatever. I get it, he was cute," Sanghyuk said with a grin. Hakyeon finally looked at him, this time with confusion. 

"Oh yeah. Didn't mention. I swing both ways," he told him with a suggestive wink. Hakyeon continued to stare in silence. Sanghyuk realized his mistake.

"That...that wasn't supposed to be flirtatious..." he assured him, biting his lip and looking away.

Hakyeon mentally rolled his eyes and looked at the clock. He couldn't wait to go home.


	2. Chapter 2

When Hakyeon walked through the door to his apartment, his mind was still full of thoughts of Leo and the little girl.

 

He wished he could stop thinking about them; he just felt really creepy. Having a stranger hanging in your mind all day definitely wasn't a normal thing.

 

Though, he didn't know why he was so worried. No one could see his thoughts.

 

Wonshik was sitting on the couch when he came into the living room. "Oh, hey," he greeted as Hakyeon walked over to plop next to him.

 

He let out his third deep sigh of the day, leaning back so far that his head almost disappeared into the cushion.

 

"Is something wrong?" Wonshik asked, his smile being replaced with a concerned look.

 

Hakyeon sat up a bit. "Well...I don't know. Kinda."

 

He felt air on his face that was flowing in through an open window. It felt nice. He sat up more.

 

"Can you tell me?" Wonshik asked. Hakyeon finally made eye contact with him, not sure if it'd be smart. His friend might think he was weird, or just make fun of him.

 

Then again, that wasn't like Wonshik. He was just being paranoid.

 

"Well..." It was so hard to actually say it. Wonshik was looking expectantly at him, and he felt he was failing him as he tried to explain the situation.

 

"It's just...okay don't make fun of me for this...this guy and a little girl came in today, and the guy was basically really cute, and he wasn't saying anything - which was weird - but I wanted to know his name, so I made a nickname up for him, and now I can't stop thinking about him," he explained all in one breath.

 

Wonshik was staring thoughtfully out the window at the explanation. "Well, that definitely doesn't happen every day," he mused. He turned his head leisurely, eyes drooping somewhat in a slight sleepiness. "But if he was cute then it makes sense."

 

He added on a subtle, but playful wink at the end that made Hakyeon smile. 

 

A comfortable silence followed. Hakyeon gazed dreamily out at the cloudy sky behind the window of their apartment, the breeze continuing to caress his face. He sighed in contentment. Not having much happen at the little shop where he worked made him either sad or antsy.

 

But the uneventful moments he spent with his best friend felt calming and pleasant.

 

He felt his eyelids beginning to give in, and with a soft smile gracing his face, he succumbed to rest, briefly wondering if the shy, but striking Leo would appear in his dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So short, oh my. Oh well. Anyways, hope you enjoyed ~ Hopefully I can make this fic more interesting bleh. See you soon!


	3. Chapter 3

Hakyeon walked into work the next day feeling strangely optimistic. Maybe it was all the sleep. 

"Hi, Hyukkie," he had chimed to the boy who was obviously in a much less cheery mood. "What's with the nickname?" he replied bitterly, running his fingers through his hair, which was even messier than the day before.

Hakyeon raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?" he asked. Sanghyuk just brushed him off, staying silent, and Hakyeon decided it'd be best to leave him alone after that. 

A couple more people came in that day than the previous day, and it just fueled Hakyeon's cheery mood. 

Leo still dwelled in his mind though, so you can imagine his surprise when once again around 4 o'clock him and the little girl walked through the door. 

He felt like he was falling all of a sudden. There was the person who he'd been thinking about since the last time he'd seen him, and he didn't even know his real name.

They strode up to the counter, and Hakyeon smiled widely at them, confidence filling his face though his heart was picking up.

"What can I get for you?" he asked them, with no stutter this time. Just like before, the little girl raised up onto the tips of her toes. "Both of us will have a scoop of vanilla in a cup," she told him again, just like yesterday. 

It made Hakyeon wonder as he locked with Leo's haunting eyes if she always ordered for him. 

He didn't bother asking about toppings. Maybe he should have, he considered afterwards, but he didn't. 

Leo paid without saying anything once again, and they sat down at their table, Leo still not speaking loud enough for Hakyeon to hear him. 

He stared longingly at them again, quietly sighing. 

He felt so conflicted. He didn't want to make Leo uncomfortable by talking to him when they were ordering, (on the assumption they'd be coming again, that is) but he really wanted to get to know him. 

And how else was he to talk to him? He sure as anything wasn't going to stroll up to them and start a conversation while they were in the middle of their own. 

When they were finished, Leo and the little girl walked out of the little shop for the second day, but Hakyeon felt confident they'd come back again.

And come back they did, the next day at the same time. And the next day. And the next day, and the next. And Hakyeon still didn't even know Leo's real name. And had never heard his voice. He had remembered their order, to the point where the little girl didn't even have to raise up onto her tiptoes to order anymore.

In truth though, it did hurt him a bit seeing Leo every day and not being able to talk with him, but he seemed happy with the little girl, and that made him feel happy as a result.

Maybe working at this ice shop wasn't so bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> But you know what is bad? This chapter lmao I'm sorry guys. It's wayyy too short again, too. Next one is better. I'm just trying to catch my fics up on here to where they are on AFF so please do excuse the rapid posting.


	4. Chapter 4

Hakyeon pushed open the door, walking into the cold little building. Sanghyuk was already there, and to Hakyeon's dismay, eating out of the sprinkle container again. "Hey, stop that!" Hakyeon barked, and Sanghyuk reacted jerkily in his shock, his now regularly messy hair flopping up slightly.

 

"S-sorry," he stuttered out. Hakyeon rolled his eyes, walking behind the counter, but couldn't help smiling. He had started to like being here. With quirky and humorous Sanghyuk, and the one he constantly thought about coming in hand in hand with a tiny little angel. It was more pleasant than he could have imagined it would be a couple months ago.

 

This particular day seemed to fly by, though it was with about the normal amount of people wandering in. It reached 4 o'clock, and the place was empty. Hakyeon was leaning across the counter like he usually did, but unlike usual, by 4:30, there was no sign of Leo or the little girl.

 

But he kept his hopes up. Perhaps they would be coming in later?

 

No. They never showed up, and Hakyeon felt disappointment resting in his heart. He mentally scolded himself. After all, it was just one day. They might have gotten busy; people do.

 

But the next day, they didn't come in either. Hakyeon tried to stay positive; if he sulked about it, it definitely wouldn't help. Wonshik was also helping him feel a little better.

 

However, after two and a half weeks without seeing them at all, he was starting to feel pessimistic.

 

It was a Tuesday morning, a while later after he had made himself come to terms with the fact that the chances of Leo and the little girl coming back daily again were very slim at this point. Hakyeon was looking out at the place, eyelids drooping in gloominess and disinterest, when Sanghyuk walked in late. With his hair looking the worst he had seen it so far, he waddled slowly and clumsily to their little area.

 

He leaned on the counter next to Hakyeon. "Hey," he mumbled. It was silent for a while, and Hakyeon noticed how beat up Sanghyuk seemed. "Good sleep?" he commented sarcastically, trying to brighten the mood a bit.

 

"Nope. I mean, 7 hours is usually impressive for me, but it's been even worse lately," he grumbled back, standing up and walking over to the spot where he usually parked in.

 

Hakyeon looked over at him, now really noticing the absolute chaos on top of his head. "So what have you been doing, then?" he asked, obviously gawking at the extent to which Sanghyuk's hair could be unruly. "Well..." Sanghyuk mumbled, looking away.

 

Hakyeon waited for his answer, and after a few empty seconds and a stressed sigh from the younger, he got it. "I've been out drinking," Sanghyuk admitted, shame dusting his cheeks red.

 

Hakyeon bit his lip. "I don't recommend that. Take it from someone who used to do it constantly; it makes you feel really...messed up."

 

"It's not always that," Sanghyuk bit back defensively. Hakyeon raised his eyebrows. "Oh? Then what else is it?"

 

Sanghyuk smirked. "Sometimes it's my boyfriend. He keeps me up late." He winked suggestively, and Hakyeon shot him a look of disgust, turning back into his usual position leaning forward on the counter.

 

"What's his name?" he asked Sanghyuk.

 

"Hongbin," was his reply, and Hakyeon nodded. He heard a familiar sound, and wheeled around to face him again. "Get your hand out of the sprinkle container, you dried up piece of pork. How many times do I have to tell you?" he hissed.

 

And for the first time in a long while, Sanghyuk smiled widely, brightly, and laughed, obeying Hakyeon. "Sorry," he said in between the giggles.

 

Hakyeon felt a smile creep onto his lips. He liked it when Sanghyuk was happy.

 

It was later in the afternoon that day, and Hakyeon was turned around, chatting with Sanghyuk, when the door opened.

 

Sanghyuk's face fell, and Hakyeon looked at him curiously. He pointed, gesturing for Hakyeon to turn around, and so he did.

 

And there, for the first time in over a month, was Leo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tbh...I really like this chapter. Maybe it's Hyukkie's comments idk lol. Well I hope that you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. c:


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> c;

Leo sauntered over to one of the many empty tables, parking himself in one of the three chairs. He leaned forward, burying his head in his arms the way that school children would when their teacher scolded them and they didn't want to look them in their accusing eyes. The room seemed darker all of a sudden, and Sanghyuk and Hakyeon just stood there, and looked.

 

After a minute or two, the stillness was unbearable, and Sanghyuk had to break it. "Well, are you gonna talk to him, or not?" he whispered, facing his friend. Hakyeon gave him a somewhat horrified look. "What, me?" he murmured back.

 

"Well, yeah, you're the one who has a crush on him. You're not expecting me to do it, are you?" he hissed quietly. Hakyeon rolled his eyes, heartbeat speeding up at the thought of really talking to him. It felt tabooed somehow, and he felt uncertainty bubbling up in every part of him. "C'mon, maybe he'll talk back. You haven't got much to lose, at this point."

 

Hakyeon swallowed hard, trying to perk up his confidence because Sanghyuk was right. When it came down to it, there wasn't really any connection between the two of them that he could ruin. Gathering all the courage he could muster, he took a deep breath, and tiptoed, almost like a child breaking the rules, over to the only somewhat occupied table in the little shop. He stopped by the sad looking figure's side.

 

"Are you alright?" he asked, in a voice that was a little too quiet. He didn't budge, and Hakyeon assumed that the sound of the air conditioner had effortlessly drowned out what was barely a whisper, along with his head being buried in his arms. "Leo," he said persistently, and louder this time, with a small touch on his shoulder. Finally, the man lifted his head out of the tangle of his limbs to face him, but there was a very strange look in his eyes, and only then did Hakyeon realize why.

 

He had called him Leo.

 

Oops.

 

He continued to stare at him curiously as Hakyeon struggled to find words that could cover his little slip up. The red on his cheeks was growing in intensity because Oh god, why did I say that? I probably look like a complete loser right now. He cleared his throat loudly. "Are you alright?" he asked again. Leo nodded, not taking his pretty eyes off of Hakyeon, who could feel the attention burning into his body.

 

He walked, quickly behind the counter again, and Sanghyuk gave him a look that seemed to ask what on Earth he was doing. He was glad he didn't answer because honestly, he didn't really know (and Sanghyuk hadn't actually said anything, so that might look kind of strange).

 

At an almost stupidly fast pace, he scooped just one little ball of vanilla into a cup, and shoved the correct amount of his own money into the register. Leo continued to watch him as he trotted back over to the table. Hakyeon sat down across from him, setting down the little cup on the cold surface. "Here," he offered, scooting it closer to him.

 

Leo had an unsure look on his face, and he reached into his pocket, pulling out a crumpled bill and offering it to Hakyeon, but he waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. It's from me to you," he assured him. He slowly stuffed the bill back into his pocket, a certain guilt glazing over his expression, but he accepted the small cup of ice cream, cautiously pulling it closer to him.

 

"Thank you."

 

And the breath caught in Hakyeon's throat. He'd been waiting to hear that voice for so long, and the second the soft, gorgeous sound had sailed off of his lips, his heart had stopped. It was so sweet, so timid. He knew right then that he was done for. He had fallen too hard for this near stranger.

 

"You're welcome," he choked out, trying to keep the smile on his face. He was slowly eating the ice cream now, and Hakyeon just stared. After a while, he finally found it in him to speak up again. "Would it be...out of line for me to ask what happened?" he questioned carefully.

 

Leo looked up again, and shook his head without too much hesitation. He paused, taking a moment to consider his word choices before he opened his mouth to begin.

 

"Well, you know the girl that's usually with me?" he mumbled. Hakyeon nodded; he had been wondering about her as well. "You see, she's my little niece, my sister's daughter. Her name is Hyeri. Usually I would pick her up from school and take her here." Hakyeon wouldn't like to admit how much it relieved him that the girl wasn't his daughter, but it certainly did. "But they're moving. Far away, actually. I won't get to see her anymore. It's probably kind of silly, but...she means a lot to me, and it's really hard for me to say goodbye," he explained slowly.

 

Empathy welled up in Hakyeon's heart; he knew the feeling of having to let go of a loved one, and it was definitely not fun. "I understand," he responded quietly. "It hurts a lot at first, I won't lie to you. My younger sister passed away when she was only seven. But don't worry. It gets better, and soon enough you'll be feeling just fine," he comforted him, offering a consoling smile.

 

Leo looked at him gratefully. Somehow this person who was almost a stranger to him had just made him feel so much better, and he didn't even have to say too much. After a few moments of gazing at each other, Leo turned around to look at the clock. He faced Hakyeon again, disappointment in his eyes. "I have to go."

 

"It's alright. See you tomorrow?" he offered carefully. Leo seemed to light up a little bit. "Y-Yeah, sure!" he replied clumsily, with excitement at the edge of his cute voice.

 

He stumbled towards the door, but stopped in front of it. He turned around. "I'm Taekwoon, by the way," he told him.

 

"Hakyeon. Nice to meet you," Hakyeon replied. Taekwoon smiled brightly at him, pushing the door open and finally walking out.

 

A huge grin spread across Hakyeon's face.

 

Taekwoon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope that was everything you were hoping for my darlings ~ See you soon! :D


	6. Chapter 6

Taekwoon ran through the rain, out of breath and soaking wet, yet still not able to wipe the stupid grin off his face. He had no coat or jacket, leaving him completely drenched. Usually this would annoy him, make him frown and groan, but somehow it just seemed humorous today.  
  
His feet skidded to a stop (in such a way that it was a wonder he didn't face plant) in front of his destination. For a few moments he just stared at the glass doors, letting the rain fill his shoes even further. Just moments before, he had been so eager to get inside, but now he had a few thoughts that stopped him, one being that he literally could not get any more wet right then, so there was no need to rush. The other; he had to stop smiling so widely. No way was he going to let Hakyeon know just how excited it made him to come see him again.  
  
Once he'd collected himself, settling his demeanor and expression back into a mellow state, he pushed open the door and trudged inside, careful not to slip on the tiles.  
  
Looking up, he immediately spotted Hakyeon who was trying not to burst out laughing, trotting over to him.  
  
"Got caught in the rain," the younger murmured, holding out his arms and showing the extent to which his clothes were sopping wet.  
  
"Oh, really?" Hakyeon replied sarcastically, raising an eyebrow. "I thought you took a bath with your clothes on." Taekwoon giggled loudly, but immediately covered his mouth afterwards; being extremely shy, laughing out loud always embarrassed him.  
  
Hakyeon just grinned widely at him, and Taekwoon slowly lowered his hands, returning the gesture. Just then, Hakyeon's smile fell, and his expression changed to realization.  
  
"Oh, I think we have a towel in here you can use. Be right back," he told him before taking off towards the back. Taekwoon's eyes followed him, and ended up landing on the younger (but taller) male behind the counter. "He really likes you, you know," Sanghyuk remarked, winking, and Taekwoon bit his lip.  
  
It'd been a while since he'd felt so happy around someone, and he barely even knew him. But the thought just made his heart jump with excitement; there was so much for him to learn about Hakyeon.  
  
_Calm down, Taek. You don't need to get so riled up._  
  
He just couldn't help it. That was the type of person he was.  
  
Suddenly, Hakyeon scrambled out into the open again, holding a raggedly towel of an unpleasant green color in his hands. Almost slipping on the tiles in the process, he ran up to Taekwoon and extended his arms, shoving the towel towards him.  
  
"There," he stated with finality.  
  
Taekwoon bit back the laughter this time, accepting the towel and drying himself off to the best of his ability. When he had pretty much reached the best it would get, he handed the towel back to Hakyeon, and followed him further inside.  
  
The older took a quick dash back to the unknown (wherever he'd found the towel) and came back. Sanghyuk watched him with an eyebrow raised as he went over and, like yesterday, placed his own money in the register, and scooped out a cup of plain vanilla ice cream.  
  
And with a smile, he walked over to Taekwoon, handing him the cup.  
  
"You really don't need to buy me anything," Taekwoon fretted guiltily, not reaching for the ice cream, but Hakyeon just gestured to the cup dramatically.  
  
"You know you want it," he insisted theatrically, wiggling his eyebrows. Taekwoon reached out, playfully hitting him on the shoulder. "Oh, come on," Hakyeon sighed fondly, first taking Taekwoon's right hand into his and wrapping it around the cup, then doing the same with his left. "It's not like it's expensive, you goof."  
  
He sat down at the table closest to him, and gestured towards the other seat. Taekwoon obeyed, plopping down and taking his first bite of ice cream.  
  
"So, tell me about you," Hakyeon said, scooting his chair closer to the table and resting his chin in his hands.  
  
"What?" Taekwoon murmured, eyes widening a little as he took another bite.  
  
"Tell me about yourself," Hakyeon tried again, giving him an encouraging smile. Taekwoon's cheeks dusted pink, and he opened his mouth, but his lips simply quivered as he had no idea what to say.  
  
"You don't say much, do you?" Hakyeon asked, voice fond. Taekwoon shook his head; it was true, he'd always been shy, and he didn't really have much to say about himself in this situation.  
  
"Well, we can start like this. What do you like?"  
  
"Music," Taekwoon replied, his voice as sure as it could get.  
  
"Me too! Do you like to play it?"  
  
"I like to sing...and play the piano."  
  
"There you go, that's a start, right?" Hakyeon praised cheerfully.  
  
Suddenly, thunder cracked through the sky outside, and Taekwoon jumped, gasping endearingly. There was a long moment where they just stared at each other, before Hakyeon leaned over slightly to look outside, face scrunching at the pouring rain. It had become quite the storm, which he thought was odd since it had been nice out that morning.  
  
"Are you scared of thunder?" he asked softly, making eye contact with Taekwoon again.  
  
"A little," the younger admitted.  
  
"I was too, when I was little. Now I think what scares me the most is being alone," Hakyeon confessed, sinking a little lower into his hands. It was something that had always made him feel uneasy. Something that had always cast a shadow over him.  
  
"I like being alone," Taekwoon told him. "Not that I dislike being with you! I-I like being with you. You're...different than other people," he added clumsily, eyes gluing themselves to the table, but Hakyeon just laughed affectionately.  
  
"I like being with you too. You know, maybe I can help you break out of your shell a little," Hakyeon suggested, reaching out to pat Taekwoon's head. "Your hair is still wet," he commented, sliding his fingers through the black locks.  
  
"You're weird."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"May this awkward couple be forever blessed!" Sanghyuk exclaimed from behind the counter, throwing sprinkles at them as if it was confetti. Hakyeon's face contorted in irritation as granules of rainbow landed in his hair, and Taekwoon's cheeks burned once again.  
  
"If you put your hand in that sprinkle container one more time, I will lock you out in the storm."  
  
Sanghyuk gasped melodramatically. "Cruel!" he exclaimed.  
  
"Shut up," Hakyeon grumbled. But Taekwoon laughed quietly again, this time not embarrassed that he was heard, and a proud, hopeful sensation opened up in Hakyeon's chest.  
  
Maybe his days could be happy after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HoLy MoLY I HavEnT UpDaTed THis IN FoREvEr. But I have now. I wonder if anyone even remembers that this fic exists. Oh well. I had thought about not writing it after all because tbh I just had no idea what tf to do with it, but I'm gonna figure it out. sO YeA. I hope that was good since I made you wait so long. See you soon! c:


	7. Chapter 7

"You really think he likes me?"  
  
"Hakyeon, you sound like a schoolgirl."  
  
"Hyukkie," he groaned, wanting to hit him. "I'm serious." It had been a little over a week now of Taekwoon's daily visits, and the shy boy barely left his mind.  
  
Sanghyuk grinned, gripping the countertop so he could push himself up to sit on it. "Would he come in every day to see you if he didn't?" he asked pointedly, swinging his legs in a playful manner.  
  
"But maybe he only likes me as a friend."  
  
"Why does he blush when you compliment him and say cute stuff then?"  
  
"He's really shy."  
  
Sanghyuk shook his head, clicking his tongue scoldingly. "Negativity. You're not going to steal his heart with that attitude, honey," he chided.  
  
Hakyeon turned around, leaning forward onto the counter and staring at the door like usual. His bottom lip was pushed out in a pout, and his eyebrows were furrowed to pair with it. "I often have to remind myself of the reason I go to _you_ , of all people, for advice about this kind of stuff," he grumbled wistfully, turning his gaze to watch the pink sunset sky out the window.  
  
Sanghyuk snorted. "Which is what?"  
  
"You have a boyfriend, so you must be doing _something_ right. As surprising as that is."  
  
"Well, you're quite the ray of sunshine today," Sanghyuk noted sarcastically, playing with the fabric of his skinny jeans. "Do you not think I'm hot?"  
  
"You wish."  
  
"I'm offended. And also taken, smart ass."  
  
Just as Hakyeon was about to fire another retort, he spotted the reason of his distress walking by outside. The soft rosy light of the evening sky complimented his features so perfectly that his ethereality momentarily distracted Hakyeon from the question, _what was he doing here so late?_  
  
The doors swung open slowly, making the chimes above them jingle very quietly, and in walked Taekwoon. Hakyeon just blinked, and the air was quiet as Taekwoon smiled shyly at him.  
  
The pleasant moment was then promptly (and unsurprisingly) ruined by Sanghyuk, who, in an obnoxiously loud voice, called out, "What are you doing here so late, Chinese Taekout? You were here earlier."  
  
Taekwoon walked over tentatively, ducking his head at yet another nickname. (It'd been an interesting week; a new cheesy title for each day. And this was the second one today, God love him.)  
  
But, flying in to his rescue, Hakyeon turned around, walking over and hitting Sanghyuk on the head fairly aggressively (which, mind you, he'd been wanting to do for hours). "If you make up one more stupid nickname, I swear-"  
  
"I'm just having some fun. Geez, mom."  
  
Taekwoon giggled under his breath as he came up to the counter. Hakyeon spun back around to face him again, and his curious look returned. "Wait...you are here for the second time today," he realized out loud.  
  
Taekwoon nodded, looking back behind him and grabbing a chair. He pulled it up to the counter, plopping down in the seat.  
  
"How come?"

  
He looked at his knees, just shaking his head.

  
"It's embarrassing."  
  
"If you don't want to tell me, that's okay," Hakyeon assured him sweetly.  
  
"But I wanna know!" Sanghyuk exclaimed from his spot on the counter, now kicking his feet like a discontent child, banging against the cabinets.  
  
"I _will_ hit you again. And this time I'll be less merciful."  
  
"I'll help him," Taekwoon chimed in.  
  
"Oh, look who's starting to discover his sassy side," Sanghyuk pointed out, sounding impressed. He slid onto his feet again, trotting over to lean into the counter next to Hakyeon. "I didn't think you had it in you," he added, ruffling his hair playfully. Hakyeon frowned at him, jealousy sizzling slightly in his lungs and a look in his eyes that seemed to say, _don't touch him_. Sanghyuk pretended not to see it, but was laughing internally because _as if he didn't_. Taekwoon watched the scene uncomfortably, shifting in his seat.  
  
Hakyeon cleared his throat, breaking the odd silence. "Anyways," he said, "You know what we should do?" Taekwoon blinked at him expectantly. "We should exchange numbers. Then we can talk whenever we want," he explained, smiling brightly.  
  
Taekwoon nodded enthusiastically, taking his phone out of his pocket and handing it to Hakyeon. The older accepted it, and with the other hand did the same, handing his own phone to Taekwoon. Their hands brushed as they switched, and there was a moment of skipped heartbeats, "like in some cheesy romance anime," Sanghyuk would later add.  
  
They jerked back, each other's devices in hand, and their stares flicked down to the screens. Their fingers tapped away, and soon enough they were both each other's contacts (Hakyeon definitely, _definitely_ did not put a heart emoji next to Taekwoon's name).  
  
"See? Now you can call or text me whenever you want," he declared cheerily. Taekwoon beamed up at him, eyes shining. "Yeah," he mumbled, mouth barely moving in his expression of mesmerization.  
  
Hakyeon's face lit up with amusement. "Are you starting to fall for me?" he teased, smile dripping with mirth. Taekwoon's own smile fizzled out as his mouth dropped open slightly, cheeks dusted pink.  
  
"That's some confidence you've got there," he spluttered, trying (and utterly failing) to feign smoothness. Hakyeon just laughed at him, and he pouted.  
  
Hakyeon leaned forward onto his elbows, his laugh dying down. "Hey, I'm sorry," he said, tone warm. Taekwoon slowly lifted his head up. In his gradual return to the eye contact though, he caught sight of something odd scraping across the skinny arm resting on the counter in front of him. His face contorted. His stare lingered for too long.  
  
"Hakyeon?" he asked timidly, too curious to feel the fluffy feeling it gave him to say his name. His eyes were locked on the strange mark. "What is this?"  
  
Hakyeon looked down, and his arm flinched. "That's...a long story," he responded, moving it behind the counter, and Taekwoon would like to think he imagined the way his older friend faltered.  
  
It was silent for a moment. Not even Sanghyuk spoke, oddly enough, and there was something so uncomfortably cold about it.  
  
"Oh, okay. I have to go," Taekwoon stuttered quickly after it passed, standing with a wobble of his knees and his cheeks heating up. He felt unwelcome all of a sudden, like he was being shut out, and being the person he was, he began to flee the second the feeling began to eat at him.  
  
Hakyeon was stunned by the sudden action, and found himself unable to even say goodbye before Taekwoon was already gone.  
  
"What in the hell was that all about?" Sanghyuk scoffed, glancing over at Hakyeon.  
  
"I don't know," he replied, his wide eyes drifting down to the scar that intruded the beautifully tan skin on his forearm.  
  
"I don't know," he repeated under his breath.  
  
*****  
  
"I'm gonna go take a shower," Hakyeon informed him indifferently, and Wonshik tried to smile at him before he left. Something was off about him tonight, and he wished he could help, but he seemed to be in one of those moods where it was best to just leave him be.  
  
Hakyeon's bare feet trudged onto the cold tiles, a chill running through him. He flinched. Why was it so cold in here? With a sigh, he tossed his pajamas onto the floor (the super fluffy ones that Wonshik used to poke fun at him for holding onto) and began to strip.  
  
Today, however, for the first time in a long, long while, his eyes were fixed on the mirror, and he just stared at his body. His scars seemed to jump out at him, as if they would launch themselves out of his reflection and attack him. It was just the way he'd seen them back in high school.  
  
Don't look at yourself this way. You're happy now. You have Taekwoon, Wonshik, and Sanghyuk all by your side now. They can't hurt you anymore. Scars. That's all they are.  
  
He opened the glass door and stepped in, turning on the hot water and shaking the thoughts from his mind. The memories.  
  
Scars. That's all they were.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh
> 
>  
> 
> I hope you liked it guysss <3 See you soon! c:


	8. Chapter 8

Spring brought another strong thunderstorm. Hakyeon sat in his living room, eyes glued on the window that constantly shook with the force of the wind. He didn't have to go to work today, and he would be more thankful for it if he could actually sleep.

Alas, the world seemed to be against him. It was seven in the morning, and for some reason, he was wide awake. Usually, he could sleep through thunderstorms without much trouble, but he'd had no such luck today. He pulled his knees up to his chest, his fingers brushing against the soft material of his long, puppy-printed pajama pants, and continued to watch angry droplets of rain pelt the glass.

The opening of a door shocked him out of his trance just then, and he turned around to see Wonshik coming out of his room and into the kitchen, dressed for work.

"Morning," he remarked, following Wonshik with his eyes as he trotted to the kitchen, his shoes leaving little rhythmic thumps on the apartment floor.

"Morning," the younger returned absentmindedly as he collected up a stack of papers from the counter and straightened it up, then trying his best to slot them neatly into a black folder. Upon success, he nodded subtly to himself, and shoved the folder into his bag, zipped it up, and slung it over his shoulder.

Hakyeon's eyebrows knitted together as it occurred to him that Wonshik was preparing to leave, reaching his hands up to his face and slapping it violently enough to wake himself up.

"Hey," he put in quietly, standing with a disapproving frown and staggering on his little legs up to the kitchen.

Wonshik fully turned his attention to him this time, dropping his hands from his face and paling a little at Hakyeon's expression. "Yeah?" he asked in the tone of someone who'd been caught by their mother doing something they weren't supposed to do.

"What are you having for breakfast?" Hakyeon asked pointedly, standing at the edge of the cold kitchen tiles with bare feet.

"Not feelin' hungry. I'll eat later though," he answered, his face relaxing in apparent relief as he gave Hakyeon an indifferent shrug. His eyes idly glanced downward for just a moment, and upon the sight, his lips curled into a grin laced with a tiredness that Hakyeon hadn't noticed. "Nice pajamas," he commented.

He watched then as Wonshik turned, and with a little wave but not another word walked to the door and disappeared almost as quickly as he'd showed up.

There was something that was a bit odd about him lately. Something just a little bit unsettling. He couldn't quite put his finger on the reason why, but his mannerisms and words lately had just seemed unusual.

Even though he was still kind and understanding to him like he always had been, it almost felt as if they were becoming more like strangers somehow.

The thought frightened him a little, and he shook it away, using his hand on the counter to turn himself around and walk back over to the couch.

The storm was only getting worse if possible, and a particularly loud roar of thunder caught his attention as he sat back down. There was almost a creeping fear that his windows would break. In the time that he and Wonshik had lived here, he didn't remember there ever being a storm like this one.

Maybe he should watch Netflix or something. Something to get his mind out of its gloomy haze. Something to distract him, to make him think about other things more trivial and meaningless than the things hanging in his brain. But even as he thought this, he couldn't bring himself to turn on the television, or get up to get a snack. He simply continued to be frozen, staring at his abused window panes.

Suddenly, he was yanked back to reality once more as he heard a familiar sound blasting from nowhere other than this phone fill the room, and he wheeled around irritatedly to see the screen of it lit up as it rang on the little table next to the couch. At first his instincts told him to pick up and grumble something unpleasant to whoever was disturbing him, or just ignore them because it was still so early, he could pretend he'd been asleep.

But all of his annoyance and dismissal dissipated when he saw the name waking up his screen.

It took him a moment to process what he saw, but when it got through his head, he leaned over and grabbed his phone right away, raising it to his ear as he accepted the call.

"Hello?" he spoke quietly, as if Wonshik was still sleeping peacefully in the next room despite the weather.

" _H-Hakyeon?_ "

"Taekwoon," he remarked confusedly. "What-"

That's when he remembered. The realization caused him to pause for just a moment, hearing the younger boy's breathing through the line that was laced with fear and tension.

"Is it the storm?" he asked, concern swirling in his eyes as he stared out his window.

" _Y-Yeah,_ " Taekwoon answered in a shallow, shaky voice. Hakyeon could tell he was trying so hard to stop it from shaking the way it was.

"You're more than just a little afraid of them, aren't you?" he said cautiously, trying to adopt a gentle, understanding tone that went against his usual sarcastic and playful one.

Taekwoon hummed in confirmation just before another loud growl of thunder shook his ears, and he drew a sharp, startled breath.

" _Can you stay on the line?_ " he murmured, and there was a little shuffling noise on the other end that Hakyeon subconsciously tried to identify.

"Yeah, yeah of course," he reassured him, shifting in his position on the couch and trying to get himself in a good mindset.

"We can talk about...lots of stuff. Like, uh...music, or the city. Maybe even Hyuk and like...how dumb he is and that he needs to stop eating all those damn sprinkles or I'm going to kill him."

Taekwoon laughed softly, a warm and sweet sound despite the little frightened shake that lingered in his voice. Hakyeon grinned in satisfaction and waited expectantly when he heard Taekwoon inhale as if he were about to speak.

But a few moments passed in silence, and though it had seemed promising at first, Taekwoon ended up just releasing the breath in a little confused sigh.

"Or if...you would prefer it, we could just be quiet. That's okay with me too, I just...you know."

" _No...this is fine,_ " the shy voice crackled through as Hakyeon managed to lift himself up while keeping the phone sandwiched between his ear and right shoulder.

"Oh, okay. Good. Because you know, I've got an idea," he responded back in his silly, mischievous tone, absentmindedly gesturing with his hands though he knew well Taekwoon couldn't see him.

" _Do you?_ " Taekwoon asked. Hakyeon could hear the younger boy's smile in the two words, and his confidence took a step up.

"I do. And it's really good, even for me, the genius."

" _Again with that confidence. Not so sure what you see in yourself Hakyeon,_ " Taekwoon shot back impressively, and the older could almost picture him sitting up in the excitement of the retort, smirk spread thick on his lips.

He was at a loss, in all honesty. This guy had been like a baby bunny from first time he'd met him, and suddenly he just pulls one of those out of the bag with expert delivery.

"Sheesh. You're pretty biting when you put your mind to it," Hakyeon marveled as he walked into his kitchen. "Anyways, smartass," he drawled out playfully, opening his fridge doors and listening hopefully for a little giggle on the other end. Unfortunately, there was no way for him to see just how wide Taekwoon was smiling.

"I have a story to tell you."

" _A story?_ "

"You betcha."

" _Okay._ "

Hakyeon cleared his throat dramatically, taking out and setting down a bottle of orange juice before purposely cracking his knuckles right next to the phone. Taekwoon shuddered and made a sound of disgust at the sound.

"Alright," Hakyeon began, ignoring him. "So once upon a time there was a little kitty that lived far, far away from most other kitties. The kitty's name was Leo. Leo had always been very scared of storms. But, because he had his kitty friend to help him and because he was very brave, Leo worked hard and in the end, he wasn't so afraid anymore."

There was a silence on the line. Hakyeon froze up, listening for Taekwoon's reply and only hearing breathing. Oops?...

Just as he was starting to redden in the face and regret saying anything like that at all, Taekwoon's voice came through the line again.

" _You're so cheesy._ " His tone was unreadable, but he didn't sound actually disgusted, which to Hakyeon in this moment was a bonus.

"I know, but it's worth it, I think," he returned, pulling open a cabinet door and grabbing a glass out of it. He set it down on the counter, unscrewing the cap off the bottle and pouring juice in as he waited again for a reply.

" _Oh...it's starting to stop,_ " was all he got.

His eyebrows furrowed displeasedly at these words, and he then turned around to see that the rainfall was pretty normal now, and the wind and thunder had greatly subsided.

"Yeah...kinda," he mused as he stared at the changed atmosphere, his face sinking further into a little frown.

The weather in this place was absurd.

" _Well, since it's...you know, I can just...stop bothering you,_ " Taekwoon told him apologetically, his voice still small like it usually was but more confident than a few minutes ago.

"You're not bothering me, though," the older boy told him without hesitation, shaking his head halfway just to himself.

Another small silence.

" _I have a few other things I've gotta do too,_ " he explained, and he could be heard standing up from somewhere on the other end.

"Oh. Right, okay. Yeah, that's-that's totally fine. Good luck with...whatever it is exactly," Hakyeon muttered out, trying to sound unbothered and to snap himself back to reality, but failing as he lifted the bottle of orange juice and began drinking directly from it instead of the glass he'd just poured himself.

" _Thank you for staying,_ " Taekwoon told him softly, and Hakyeon knew he meant it.

"Yeah. Of course. I'll see you tomorrow, right?" he asked after he pulled the bottle away from his mouth.

" _Mhm,_ " Taekwoon confirmed.

"Okay...I'll see you then," Hakyeon said, only then realizing his mistake and picking up his glass instead.

" _See you._ "

"Tomorrow."

" _Yes, tomorrow._ "

"Bye."

" _Goodbye, Hakyeon,_ " Taekwoon laughed.

"Goodbye."

The line went dead.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LOOK WHO FINALLY UPDATED THIS FIC WOOOOO
> 
> Jesus I need to catch up
> 
> See you soon! c:


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trigger warning y'all
> 
> (y am I like this)

_Just as the grating sound of the bell echoed into the room, he frantically planted his body into his chair right before eagle eyes swept the area, looking to single him out._

_He was on time today._

_A skeptical stare burned through the middle-aged man's thick glasses. "Mr. Cha," he said, and the way the name left his chapped lips didn't sound as accusing as it usually did, but also didn't suggest he was pleased to see him._

_"Hi," he responded in a small voice, shifting in his seat. He didn't like people staring at him_ _, but this happened every day, so you'd figure they'd be used to it by now._

_"Congratulations, boy. You learned how to read a clock," the teacher grumbled, turning back around and beginning to write on the board using a fading green marker._

_Hakyeon let out a sigh of relief as he watched the teacher's bony_ _fingers move to_ _write out an equation. Despite another encounter with those stupid boys who refused to ever leave him alone, today, he_ _was_ _actually_ _on time._

_He was feeling pretty good for once, accomplishment welling up in his chest and making him sit up almost straight in his chair (a rare occurrence, mind you)._

_That was until he noticed that his shorts had ridden up his right leg_ _at some point -_ _enough to be able to see the ugly purple bruise spreading across both his knee and his thigh. Frantically, he pulled the material back over the bruise, frowning and sighing because he swore he could feel eyes on him, but he couldn't bring himself to check._

_His eyes were glued to the carpet when_ _out of nowhere_ _, the bell rang for the second time in the past few minutes, and he watched in confusion and shock as every student except him and a girl with giant round glasses sprung out of their seats and bolted out into the hallway._

_"What's going on?" he asked anxiously, turning to face the teacher, but as if by magic, he had disappeared._

_"_ _G_ _ym," he heard a little voice say, and with a glance behind_ _him_ _he realized that it was the petite girl with the not-so-petite glasses._

_"Huh?"_

_"This is what always happens," she told him with a sigh, suddenly moving backwards into the open, and that was the moment Hakyeon realized she was sitting in a wheelchair, using her sleeve-covered arms to push her out from behind her desk._

_His eyes widened a little at the strange circumstances, but he shook away any reaction, not wanting to offend her and instead cleared his throat awkwardly. "Do you want me to push you?" he offered politely, standing up and looking her in the eye._

_The girl seemed surprised, but nodded, her face seeming to get slightly redder. Hakyeon, completely oblivious, stepped forward and wrapped his_ _fingers_ _around the handles before beginning to push her_ _towards the doorway_ _. He walked confidently, almost like he'd done this before, taking them both out of the classroom and into the hall._

_But he realized quickly that it wasn't_ _actually_ _the hall, doing a double take at the discovery that everything had shifted around him in the blink of an eye._

_He had just stepped directly into the gym, and somehow, the wheelchair and the girl were both gone, leaving empty space in his hands. He was no_ _t_ _alone_ _either, as he might expect_ _; a certain group of boys that he knew all too well were at the end of the giant room, dribbling around basketballs, laughing about something_ _with each other_ _._

_Uh oh. Not good. Not good at all._

_He scanned the place over to the left, then to the right only to find that it was only himself and those horrible boys in there._

_He needed to get out. Fast._

_But he felt something in him break a little when he wheeled around to rush to the now somehow extremely far away door, and he heard a familiar voice yell out behind him._

_"Hey, fag! Goin' somewhere?"_

_Oh no._

_He didn't even spare a quick look behind him, instead launching himself forward on his feet, racing towards the door, but his heart sank as he felt the fingers from a large hand latch around his tiny wrist._

_Though it was no use, he still fought, hating this feeling more than any feeling that he could imagine._

_"I didn't think so," he heard sneered out through an evil smirk._

_A huge lump grew in his throat, and he pressed his lips into a line_ _. Why couldn't they just leave him alone? Why wouldn't they? He'd never done anything to them. Never._

_That's what he got for being openly gay at a public high school, he supposed._

_Things turned blurry as his body hit the floor hard, arm bending at a painful angle underneath his weight. Dizziness clouded everything in his view; it felt like his body was stuck_ _on_ _a spinning ride at a carnival, and he couldn't yell out for it to stop._

_His eyes slowly came back into focus, a toxic breath stabbing into his lungs. He groaned in pain, trying to curl up into a ball so they couldn't hurt him anymore._

_And he thought for a second that he would stay that way. He wasn't going to move. No way._

_But then, he heard a different voice snarling down at him accusingly._

_"I was talking to you, you little fucker."_

_His head slowly turned out of the little ball he was tucked into, looking up to see the face of Sanghyuk, who was wearing that uncharacteristic evil smirk proudly. He snickered at Hakyeon's expression._

_"S-Sanghyuk?" he managed to get out, even though it hurt his chest to speak. "Sanghyuk, why are-"_

_"You know your parents fucking hate you. They might say they don't, but they're lying. They hate you for being the way you are," he spat in Hakyeon's face, going for a kick in the chest that Hakyeon blocked with the palms of his hands, the rubber on dirty converse scraping_ _against_ _his skin._

_"I don't understand," he coughed, his eyes watering and making everything blurry again. He saw_ _another_ _boy_ _lean over him_ _then, and it was hard to make out who it was, but as soon as the boy opened his mouth, Hakyeon's heart sank even further._

_"Everyone hates you. You should just kill yourself," he heard Wonshik's voice growl from up above_ _, and he couldn't look at him. He couldn't._

_"Shut up! Shut up, shut up!" he screamed back hoarsely, and his chest ached so much, but he just couldn't take the words. Not from these people he loved._

_Hands gripped his body, and he felt himself being lifted up. "No, no," he slurred out, halfway to unconsciousness but still struggling as forcefully as he could._

_It all made no sense, and yet, in a way, it did. Because he_ _knew how pathetic he was; he_ _deserved_ _this._

_He felt his back hitting cold metal, and his head made harsh, noisy contact with something that sounded like a bench in the bleachers. He was pulled up and back down repeatedly into the surface, and at one point he felt his arm drag against a sharp corner, a digging sensation making its way under his skin, but it was difficult to really feel the pain._

_At one point his head lolled to the side, and he_ _caught a quick glimpse of the blood oozing from his arm_ _. He_ _screwed his eyes shut right afterwards, trying to take the steadiest breaths he could and calm himself down, despite also trying to tune out the feeling and sound of his body's continuous impact with the bleachers._

_He was_ _so dangerously close to_ _just giving up on_ _trying to struggle, or do anything_ _when a voice rang out through the gym._

_"_ _Hey, put_ _him down!"_

_The beatings suddenly ceased, and a silent thank you welled up in his chest for whoever that voice belonged to._

_"Or what?" he heard Wonshik laugh back. "I'm sure you'll be able to stop us_ _," he jeered teasingly, sounding so confident in himself._ _He knocked Hakyeon's head against the metal again just to spite the stranger, making the older boy groan in pain again, but that didn't seem to be the best idea because immediately afterwards, the rapid sounds of shoes squeaking against the gym floor could be heard._

_Wonshik dropped Hakyeon_ _'s body completely_ _, following Sanghyuk's lead in turning himself to square up to this unfamiliar guy, but it was barely seconds before loud thumping sounds filled the room, and Hakyeon took the now difficult task of raising his head to see none other than Taekwoon standing over the unconscious bodies of Hakyeon's real high school bullies._

_Taekwoon turned around, eyes sinking into an uncharacteristic worry as they spotted Hakyeon, and he ran over._

_"Are you alright? he asked, his voice sounding much louder than usual as he leaned over Hakyeon. Fingers wrapped around the unharmed part of his small arm, and_ _a_ _yelp_ _of_ _pain_ _escaped his mouth_ _, now noticing how weirdly deep the gash actually was._

_"Sorry. You get cuts and bruises easily, don't you?" Taekwoon asked sympathetically, and Hakyeon's eyebrows knitted together slowly_ _, his squint of pain still there_ _._

_"How did you know that? I never told you," he pointed out_ _, his voice just on the edge of accusing._

_"Shh. Here, take these. Eat them," the younger told him, holding out a handful of what looked like rainbow sprinkles. Somehow those rainbow sprinkles seemed familiar to him, and not in the best way, but he_ _disregarded the thought. He_ _trusted Taekwoon._

_He held out his own hands, letting the little sugary things be poured into his palms before he dunked them all into his mouth, eating_ _every one of them_ _in one big bite._

_And against all odds, as they all went down he felt all of his pain fade away, and when he looked down at his previously bleeding arm, only a dark scar was left._

_"See? That's better, isn't it?" Taekwoon said, smiling and helping Hakyeon down from the bleachers and onto the gym floor._

_"Taekwoon, you're acting_ _weird_ _," he remarked, following as the younger boy led him towards the door._

_"I'm not sure what you mean."_

_"You just-"_

_He was cut off by a sound behind him, and he whipped around to face Wonshik lifting his body up off of the floor so he could stand on his feet again._

_"Hakyeon," h_ _is best friend_ _called as he got up, and the boy in question froze in panic. This was the guy that had just kicked him, sneered awful words at him, thrown him into the bleachers. He was not about to trust him._

_"Run," Taekwoon whispered urgently to him as Wonshik called out his name again._

_He did not hesitate to obey, using his newfound energy and fear to take off towards the door again._

_Running as Wonshik called to him, running and running..._

"Hakyeon."

His eyes flew open, and he sucked in a startled breath, staring up at Wonshik's face.

His immediate reaction was to shrink away from him, the fear still fresh in his chest, but in this world, Wonshik looked confused at the response.

"You alright?" he questioned, placing a hand over Hakyeon's forehead to feel for heat. "You look pale as hell," he added, sounding a little worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Bad dream," Hakyeon grumbled out, gently pushing Wonshik's hand away and sitting up on the couch. He rubbed his eyes, taking a look at his surroundings. He must have fallen asleep there sometime during the day, and the fatigue from waking up early after staying up far too late the night before had kept him asleep.

"Yeah, no kidding. You were thrashing around like crazy; I almost thought you were having a seizure for a second there," Wonshik told him, shaking his head and grunting as he pushed himself up from his knees and stood upright.

Hakyeon frowned, looking him over idly from his lazy position, and in doing so, he noticed something a bit peculiar.

_That's odd. He never goes out after he gets home from work._

Wonshik reached into the pocket of his pants, not noticing Hakyeon's curious stare.

"Anyways, I bought you one of these on the way home. These are the ones you like, right?" he asked as he pulled out a little blue sucker in a transparent wrapper and handed it to Hakyeon.

"Oh...yeah, that's the kind," he confirmed with a small smile, taking it and pulling off the clear, thin plastic. "Thanks, Wonshik," he chirped before popping it in his mouth.

"No prob. Hey, listen, I gotta go for a little bit," he told him.

"Ah, I was wondering why you changed into something nice," Hakyeon commented, words a little muffled because of the sucker. He had an eyebrow raised and sat forward a little in his seat, but Wonshik seemed to be ignoring his obvious hints that he wanted an explanation.

"Yup. I'll be back soon, okay? Don't have any more nightmares."

And with a pat on Hakyeon's shoulder, Wonshik turned around and walked towards the door.

"Where you going?" Hakyeon asked, raising his voice so Wonshik couldn't pretend that he hadn't heard.

"Eh, just out," was the only response he got, the vague and dismissiveness reminding him of that same morning.

It had been especially bad today - the distance and weird behavior, that is - and Hakyeon was feeling a little frustrated.

He ran a hair through his hair, shaking his head. He wanted to figure out the reason for it, but he didn't want to bring it up because he'd risk making it worse. With a sigh, he climbed off the couch and made his way towards the kitchen.

In some way or another, he was going to figure it out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So now we have a little slice of Hakyeon's past in the form of a dark ass nightmare
> 
> nice
> 
> Anyways I hope you guys enjoyed n stuff :) I'm really starting to get a better feel of the direction that I'm taking this I think, so yiss. See you soon! c:


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE FASTEST UPDATE IN THE HISTORY OF MY FANFICS TBH
> 
> lmao it's not long really but enjoy anyways guys <33

Hakyeon pushed open the glass door, the little bell's chime ringing in his ears, and he took a deep breath.

With all the hours of sleep, he was very well rested, and yet he still felt groggy and lethargic. Plus, the cool breezy weather, despite feeling lovely, was not helping him stay awake by any means.

His jaws stretched open in a wide yawn as he walked in, looking up to see Sanghyuk standing there, eating a blueberry muffin like it was what he was being paid to do.

"Finally not eating the sprinkles, I see," Hakyeon pointed out as he joined him behind the counter, and Sanghyuk nodded, eating the last of the muffin and throwing the wrapper in the little black trash can next to the counter.

"I didn't go out and do anything dumb last night either," he replied in between him licking his fingers. "You proud of me?"

Hakyeon snorted, leaning up against the counter just like always. "As proud as someone's ever been of you, probably."

"Why are you so rude to me? I'm truly hurt," Sanghyuk remarked back, jumping up and using his arms to lift himself to sit on top of the counter - something that was starting to turn into a habit of his.

Hakyeon rested his chin in his hands, closing his eyes. He did have to admit to himself that he felt a bit comforted. Sanghyuk looked much more collected today, and seemed to have lost the dark circles underneath his eyes a little. Maybe he was trying to get out of his bad habits and live in a way that was more healthy.

"Hey, Sanghyuk," he said, not turning around to look at him.

"What?" the younger boy responded.

"Good job."

There was a moment of silence following his words, and Hakyeon almost wanted to see his reaction, but at the same time didn't want to turn around now. He also briefly wondered whether or not he should have said that in the first place, but it wasn't like he could go back on it now.

However, Sanghyuk apparently was just not understanding.

"Huh?"

Hakyeon sighed, still not turning around. "You didn't go out and do anything stupid. That's good. Good job."

Another silence.

He was now very tempted to turn around, but this time, he didn't even have the chance to, because suddenly he felt arms wrapping firmly around his back.

_What in the world?_

"Aw, Hakyeonnie, that's so sweet! You really are just the cutest, aren't you?" he heard squeaked from behind him, and that was when he realized that Sanghyuk was back-hugging him tightly, and he was now completely sure; he should not have said that. A scowl crossed his face.

"Don't make me take it back."

"You're like a tiny little marshmallow teddy bear!"

"I'm older than you."

"Hush, small teddy bear."

"I feel violated."

He supposed that's what he got for opening his damn mouth.

It was far too long before Sanghyuk finally let him go, but when he did, and he finally was able to breathe again, Hakyeon's mind began to wander, the way it usually did standing behind the counter.

He thought about a lot of things. But mostly, he thought about Wonshik.

Today, his younger friend had called in sick. It was some sort of stomach thing, apparently, and he had looked worryingly pale. He couldn't eat anything, having thrown up several times that morning, but nevertheless, he had brushed off Hakyeon's multiple offers to help him in any way.

At times when Wonshik was like himself, he wouldn't have pushed him away like that. Usually, he allowed Hakyeon to fuss over him, because even though he didn't want his older friend wasting time away on him, he knew that it made both of them feel better.

This was yet another occurrence to add to this seemingly endless list of weird things about Wonshik in the past month or so, and Hakyeon did not like it. Not at all.

He missed the way things used to be. He missed how close they'd always felt, like they could tell each other anything and not filter things out all of the time. It left an empty space in his life, a lonely gap where that friendship was supposed to be.

He wished that gap would just go away.

At one point, he pulled out his phone, wondering if he could get his friend to warm up to him a bit more if he made a gesture through text instead.

_hakyeon_ : hey, how are you feeling?

Almost a half an hour passed before he got a reply.

_wonshik_ : I'm fine  
_wonshik_ : a lot better than this morning

No luck. An unpleasant expression sunk into his face as he stared at the messages.

For some odd reason, he didn't really believe that answer.

Time from that point on passed pretty much as usual. The main difference today was the sheer amount of people that came in.

It wasn't just more than usual. It was a little weird, actually.

There were couples, families, people by themselves, groups of friends, and a lot of each. Hakyeon honestly couldn't believe the speed of business today, and it truly made him wonder why.

Not that he was complaining; all of the people made his job far more interesting, and it also meant he didn't have to deal with Sanghyuk's antics quite so much.

Oddly enough though, Taekwoon wasn't among the many people that came in that day. Four o'clock passed by very suddenly, and Hakyeon was waiting for him to come in and cheer him up like he did just about every day now, but he never walked through the door.

"Where's Jesus Taek the Woon today?" Sanghyuk asked idly around fifteen minutes past as he topped two scoops of peach ice cream with chocolate sprinkles for a customer, a look of disapproval on his face at the combination.

Hakyeon just ignored the ridiculous designation at this point, being far too used to all the nicknames.

"Dunno," he responded gloomily, face starting to look droopy and disappointed. He tried to snap himself out of it as he told the mother next in line that her and her son could step up and order.

Today just wasn't really his day, he supposed.

After a little while though, to his surprise, his phone buzzed again, and when he took it out of his pocket to check who had sent it, (expecting and maybe sort of hoping that maybe it was Wonshik) Taekwoon's name lit up on his screen.

_taekwoon_ ♡: hi - sorry I couldn't make it today

The corners of his lips curled upwards at the sight of it, and somehow Sanghyuk, who saw it happen, was able to guess exactly who had sent that text.

_hakyeon_ : oh no, that's okay :)  
_hakyeon_ : I miss you tho  
_hakyeon_ : there's actually been a ton of people today compared to usual

He put on that bright customer service smile as a couple walked up to the counter - a tall, young guy in a sweatshirt and a girl with her hair tied up in a messy bun. They were extremely friendly; he served them happily, and watched them walk out together before he checked his phone again.

_taekwoon_ ♡: oh really?  
_taekwoon_ ♡: also I'll be there tomorrow

Hakyeon smiled at his screen. He sure hoped so.

*****

Once home, Hakyeon slipped his shoes off and headed dutifully into the kitchen.

Just because Wonshik didn't want him to fuss over him today didn't mean that he wouldn't. He was determined to treat him the way any loving (mom) friend would.

Plus, on the way home - partly as a way to pay him back for the blue lollipop, but partly as a way to spoil him - he'd rented some movies for them to watch: something that Wonshik always enjoyed doing when he was sick.

He set them down on the counter before pulling open a cabinet so he could grab a tall glass. As he set that down too, a shiver ran through him, and with a glance down, he realized his arms were covered in goosebumps. Come to think of it, it was freezing.

Had Wonshik done that? It definitely wasn't something he did normally - in fact, when Wonshik got sick, he had a habit of turning the temperature up a bit to help keep him warm.

Shaking his head, he leaned out towards the wall where the thermostat was, balancing on one foot as he reached out and turned it up a little bit. There, that was better.

He then leaned back into his spot and went to fill the glass with some water from the fridge and picked up all of his things to take to Wonshik's room. Maybe he really was feeling a little better now. Maybe he'd be up for just a small snack, which of course Hakyeon would be happy to make for him. Or maybe not. Either way, Hakyeon was going to do the best he could.

He reached the bedroom door, and because both of his hands were occupied, he used his elbow to push down the door handle.

"Hey, Wonshik, did you turn the temp-"

He stopped dead in the middle of his sentence.

He stared. His body froze up.

Wonshik was laying on the other side of the bed than normal, and there was someone snuggled up next to him on the side closest to the door.

And that someone was Taekwoon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ohhhhhhhh boi
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed that mEsS. Thank you for reading <33 See you soon! c:


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHHHHHHHHHHH
> 
> hi
> 
> it's been like two months fuck

 He couldn't find any words. All he could seem to do was stand there, feet rooted into the floor, staring at them, just _staring_ at them, and it didn't seem like they knew quite what to say either.

There was this weird understanding floating around the room; the three of them were not supposed to have met each other all together in this way, and the fact that they were all realizing that at the same time just made everything all the more awkward. It was a seemingly endless moment before finally, Taekwoon opened his mouth, mumbling, "Hakyeon?" confusedly.

Wonshik turned his head towards Taekwoon with this incredulous look on his face, eyebrows furrowed. "You know him?"

This was bad. This was really bad.

Hakyeon swallowed thickly, gripping tighter onto the doorknob. What the hell was he even supposed to say? _Oh, sorry I walked in on you two. Only I'm not really sorry, because you're my best friend who's been brushing me off lately, and you've got the guy that's been leading me on for the past month cuddled into your side. But I also am sorry, because I wish I'd never seen it._

_Dammit._

"Okay, I'm just gonna..." he trailed off stupidly, slowly backing out of the room and shutting the door as noiselessly as possible, as if he'd never even stepped in.

He tried to get what he'd just seen out of his head, pretend that he really hadn't seen it at all, but for some reason, that only made it worse.

So...they were together?

_Boy_ , did that explain a lot.

He bit his lip, his chest feeling heavy with this strange feeling he couldn't identify. As much as he'd wanted to find out the reason that Wonshik was being distant, he wasn't sure which was worse: not knowing, or knowing now that Taekwoon was the reason.

With his heartbeat starting to pick up, he unlocked is phone, opening his messages and almost wanting to tell Sanghyuk, or just _someone_ about this mess. Otherwise, he was going to drive himself crazy.

However, his thoughts were interrupted just then by a door opening, and though he didn't really want to see either of their faces right now, his instinct made him take a look behind him, and before he turned back to block him out again, he caught a glimpse of Taekwoon walking down the hallway.

The soft padding of sock-covered feet seemed to approach him in his awkward spot standing at the edge of the kitchen, and he held his breath. The sound stopped a few feet away from him.

On instinct, he walked forward, going and opening the fridge as if he had just casually gone into the kitchen for food, like he didn't give a damn about what just happened.

He thought, in the silence, that maybe Taekwoon would say something. Then again, Taekwoon never really had a way with words.

As he stood there, hiding behind the silver fridge door, (which was still wide open) he heard the footsteps continue on softly, and soon enough, the sound of the door opening creaked out into the otherwise silent room, and Taekwoon was gone.

He took a deep breath, finally closing the fridge door so he was out in the open again.

The door down the hallway opened again, and this time he watched as Wonshik walked towards the kitchen, not seeing Hakyeon at first. Then, he spotted him standing there uselessly, looking lost and awkward and out of place, and Hakyeon wondered what exactly his friend was thinking. About him.

_Does he realize that I'm jealous of him?_

_Or maybe he's distracted by the fact that we all know each other, and none of us knew that we all knew each other, and now everything is really awkward, regardless of whether or not I wish I could scoop Taekwoon up and carry him far away from my best friend. And maybe cuddle him, but that's besides the point._

"Hakyeon," Wonshik offered uncomfortably, leaning up against the wall and peeking his head in. Hakyeon noticed that his skin still looked pale, and his movements were slow, indicating he was still feeling under the weather. He let go of the wall and walked all the way in the kitchen when he received eye contact.

"Hey, I'm confused, and I think you are too. Can we just talk about this?" he asked, and Hakyeon was starting to notice how his voice rang with sickness.

There was a part of him that really did want to listen to him. A part of him that knew that would be the best thing to do.

And yet, at the forefront of his mind and tugging at his heartstrings, there was another part of him that said no. _Don't. Don't listen to him. It's going to hurt._

"You two are dating, right?" he asked, and he honestly didn't mean to snap, but the rude tone was biting at the edges of his voice. He hoped Wonshik didn't notice.

Wonshik scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Yeah..." he replied unsurely, clearly not understanding what exactly the problem was. "We are, but-"

"That's all I need to know," Hakyeon dismissed with a shrug of his shoulders.

Wonshik's eyebrows narrowed in suspicion. "Hakyeon, c'mon. There's obviously something up here," he protested, crossing his arms over his chest. "If there wasn't, you wouldn't be getting bitter right now. He didn't hook up with you did he?"

"What? No! God, no. Nothing happened, okay?" he insisted, waving Wonshik off. "I'm not even mad. I just need..."

He wasn't really sure what he needed, come to think of it.

For his friends to be more honest with him? Yeah. But he doesn't really want to say that.

Space? Probably. But did that sound like someone who didn't care?

Definitely not.

"I need to go. I told someone I'd meet up with them tonight," he lied, glancing to the door and finding his shoes with his eyes. "Can we please talk about this later?"

Wonshik sighed deeply, caught in between wanting to believe him and being almost sure this was just an excuse to get away. "I guess," he returned, running a hand through his hair. He was pretty much trapped in a corner at this point, so all he could do was give Hakyeon space until he was able to accept things. He just wished he understood why this was so difficult for him.

The older nodded shortly, and then proceeded to walk over and pull on his shoes in a noticeable hurry.

Maybe what he was about to do was pretty stupid, but the part of him that cared was slowly slipping away, and he ended up turning the doorknob despite the feeling nagging in the back of his brain, saying, _this is a terrible idea. This is what you finally escaped a couple of years ago._

It was just this one time. Just once.

He pushed the door open, stepping outside to leave Wonshik by himself in the kitchen.  
His body relaxed as he let himself be absorbed by the late afternoon.

The weather was so nice. In fact, he thought it was probably the nicest day they'd had in a while. The thought actually made him chuckle bitterly under his breath. Somehow, it almost seemed to mock him - the way the sun hung beautifully in the sky, marking the beginning of the end of the day.

He pushed it out of his mind, pulling his phone out of his pocket and going to open up a contact and tap the number.

It rang once, twice, three times, and then, as he'd expected, the familiar voice answered, _"Hello?"_

"Hey. Are you busy right now?"

*****

"You're here," the unusually soft voice greeted him. It was throwing Hakyeon off a little, honestly, but on the outside he looked unfazed, unaffected. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Why?" Hakyeon asked as his friend stepped aside to let him come in through the door.

"Because you sound like you feel like shit. Even for you, Eeyore," Sanghyuk teased, his voice a mixture of sarcasm and gentleness. "So, what happened?" he questioned once they were walking towards the kitchen together.

He slid an arm around his older friend's shoulder warmly, and this time, Hakyeon didn't try to push him off, or even make a snide comment. It was a surprise for Sanghyuk; pleasant, yes, but very much a surprise.

"Nothing happened. I just don't really feel great, so I thought I'd come see you," Hakyeon half-lied, shrugging but not yet giving Sanghyuk a glance.

And Sanghyuk didn't really believe him, but he didn't want to push it right now. If there was anything he didn't want to do, it was make him feel worse by trying to force it out of him.

Instead, he cooed, "Aw, I make you feel better? That's the sweetest," sounding cheesy as ever but hoping that maybe, somehow, it would make his friend feel better, even if it was just by a little bit. Hakyeon had a tendency to be sort of sulky in general, but right now something was really up.

Hakyeon snorted at that comment, shuffling into the kitchen and looking around him. "You got anything to drink?" he asked calmly, choosing to not answer Sanghyuk's only halfway rhetorical question.

"I don't even get a, 'Your kitchen is nice! You have good taste'? Should I be offended?" Sanghyuk joked back, and Hakyeon let himself chuckle quietly.

"Aha! I made you laugh!" the younger exclaimed in triumph, pointing at him victoriously. There was this giant grin on his face, and Hakyeon thought he looked like a little kid. But he thought that about Sanghyuk a lot.

He rolled his eyes fondly. "Gotta butter you up. I want a drink," he returned, and they both knew the first part of that statement wasn't really true, but Sanghyuk gasped in fake offense just to humor him.

And then, he turned, standing on his tiptoes and opening a cabinet rather close to the white ceiling. He wrapped his hands around the necks of a few bottles, pulling them out and setting them on the counter.

"Take your pick, kiss-ass."

*****

His vision opened up into a room barely familiar to him, the couch he was laying on and the kitchen some ten feet away the main things visible to him. It was dim around him, only illuminated by the warm glow of a lamp in the corner.

Wherever he was, he must've fallen asleep there.

He groaned, rubbing his face with his hands, but despite multiple efforts to wake himself up and gather his fuzzy, barely coherent thoughts together, he still felt sleepy, and even more lost. There was more alcohol in his system than he'd had in a long while; he could tell. But he didn't remember how exactly it had gotten there, or where he was now.

That is, until he heard Sanghyuk's soft voice next to him. "Oh, you're awake," the younger remarked, and weirdly enough, Hakyeon could've sworn he felt him shoving his fingers into his back pocket just after he heard the words.

He had absolutely no idea why Sanghyuk would do that, but he knew that it happened, because he found himself watching the other boy's arm slide back out from underneath him just afterwards, and for a reason even he didn't understand, it made him reach up and wrap his arms intimately around Sanghyuk's neck.

He really didn't mean to. It was completely an accident.

But then he was leaning in as Sanghyuk sat still, completely frozen in shock.

Their lips were so close, almost brushing, and it wasn't until that moment that Sanghyuk really started to try pushing him away.

Hakyeon thought it was just because of his own wishes, and was about to move away, slowly starting to realize what he was doing with guilt filling his chest, but he soon learned that he was very mistaken.

"What are you doing?" he heard an unfamiliar voice ring out into the room, and he pulled their lips far apart then, this new person and their harsh tone startling him back to reality.

He turned to where he'd heard the noise, and promptly found himself looking into the attractive face of a sharp young man who stood at the edge of the room, scowling at the scene in front of him.

"Get your hands off of him," the guy growled roughly, and at first Hakyeon really did not understand why he sounded so angry. He wasn't going to kiss Sanghyuk, but why would this guy even care even if he did?

However, with the next exchange of words, the reason occurred to Hakyeon pretty quickly, even in his drunken state.

"Bin, he's just not thinking straight. Not sober, you know?" Sanghyuk told him, trying to unlatch Hakyeon's arms from around his neck. Hakyeon would have been thrown off by the panic in his friend's voice had his mind not been in another world. "Just calm down," Sanghyuk told the angry man gently.

"I don't care. He better get his hands off of you before I beat the shit out of him."

_Ah. 'Bin'. Also known as Hongbin, Sanghyuk's boyfriend. Also known as the guy who's probably going to kick my ass momentarily._

"M'sorry. I didn' mean to," he slurred, finally unraveling his arms and scooting away from Sanghyuk like a puppy that had just been hit.

"Get the fuck out of my house," Hongbin spat in response as he pointed towards the door, absolutely fuming.

And so Hakyeon scrambled clumsily to his feet, doing just that. He could hear Sanghyuk trying to say something behind him as he stumbled towards the door, and he wasn't really sure if the words were bitter or not, or even if they were directed at him or Hongbin.

The door was opened for him and then slammed behind him once he was out, and unfortunately, he hadn't been able to see whether or not Sanghyuk seemed mad at him before he'd been kicked out. He really hoped not.

That was when a wave of panic washed over him as he realized that he didn't have his phone on him. Which could only mean that he'd left it inside.

Or so he'd thought; he soon found the thin object stuffed into his back pocket, and that's about when it hit him: _t_ _hat must've been why he had his hands in my pocket. He was putting my phone back, wasn't he?_

He sighed to himself. _Good going, Hakyeon._ _You've just royally fucked everything up._

But that realization rose the question, _why exactly did he have my phone in the first place?_ Which brought him to pull his phone out to see if he could find out.

Funnily enough, there was only one thing on his lock screen - a text.

_taekwoon:_ yeah I screwed up

_Me too,_ he thought sadly to himself as he went to open the text, only to find a find a long string of messages that he knows for sure he did not take part in. He narrowed his eyebrows, his thumb raising to scroll to the beginning of the messages.

Even more confusingly, they all started with a few words he'd honestly been waiting to hear.

_taekwoon:_ I'm really sorry

As much as it irritated him, he forgave him. He supposed that he deserved to be forgiven anyways. Taekwoon never really did anything wrong. Hakyeon was only hurt because he'd believed in something between the two of them that was never there. It was only his imagination.

His eyes trailed back to his screen, and he read on.

_hakyeon:_ hakyeon's not here right now please leave a message

He snorted. This looked like typical Sanghyuk to him.

_taekwoon:_ hakyeon please don't be mad  
_hakyeon:_ no I'm serious this isn't him  
_hakyeon:_ this is sanghyuk

There it was. Just as suspected.

_taekwoon:_ oh  
_hakyeon:_ okay all jokes aside tho  
_hakyeon:_ just what the hell did you do pocket full of sunshine  
_taekwoon:_ pocket full of sunshine?  
_hakyeon:_ taEK ME AWAY  
_hakyeon:_ A SECRET PLACE  
_taekwoon:_ oh  
_hakyeon:_ A SWEET ESCAPE

Also typical Sanghyuk. Hakyeon chuckled quietly to himself as he read it despite everything.

_taekwoon:_ okay sanghyuk I got it  
_hakyeon:_ so are you gonna explain then  
_taekwoon:_ what?  
_hakyeon:_ are you gonna explain what you did

Hakyeon was a little torn. He appreciated Sanghyuk's worry, of course, but this seemed sort of weird to him. He supposed it was a Sanghyuk type of thing to do, though.

_taekwoon:_ why do you think I did something?  
_hakyeon:_ do you think I'm stupid undertaeker  
_hakyeon:_ he's at my place right now, drunk off his ass, and you were apologizing earlier  
_hakyeon:_ plus he took the heart off of your contact name this is truly depressing man

That was about the point that Hakyeon decided to stop reading, locking his phone and sighing into the night air. He'd rather not rub things back in again. It'd be better to feel less shitty and just forget about everything for now.

He was still drunk, too. He could feel it pulsing through his veins and head, making his legs seem heavy and making him dizzy.

He didn't want to go home right now.

But where else would he go? He really didn't want to sleep on the street either, and there was about a negative seven percent chance of him being let back into Sanghyuk's place.

That was when suddenly, a name popped into his head. A name he hadn't thought about in a long time.

It was someone that he knew would probably help him. Hakyeon had never asked them for anything really; they were just the type of person to offer kindness, even when it wasn't requested of them. Hesitantly, he opened his contacts, scrolling slowly to this person's name.

Was it right? To call them and ask for help like this?

He shook that thought away. It couldn't be so bad to ask for a little favor, right? If this person was made aware that he really didn't have anyone else to turn to. It'd be the first and last time he ever really asked them for something.

Not to mention the fact that they had told Hakyeon they'd be there for him if he did ever need anything.

_Okay. This is pretty much your last and only chance at sleep tonight. Don't screw it up._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is a wild ride tbh...poor Hakyeon :(
> 
> Anyways I really hope you enjoyed this chapter even though I'm the shittiest updater ever lol
> 
> See you soon! c:


	12. Chapter 12

Hakyeon laid there silently, tracing the ornate, old-fashioned patterns on the ceiling and gripping tight to the familiar silky gray sheets that covered his body. His head was halfway sunken into a soft pillow of the same color, and as comfortable as he was, there was something eating at him.

He knew whose bed this was. He knew perfectly well.

He'd just woken up minutes earlier to fully realize it with just a simple glance to his left, and as soon as it occurred to him where he was and why he was most likely there, he felt a mixture of confusion and guilt swell up inside him.

_When did I pull him into this whole thing? And why? He doesn't have anything to do with it._

He let a quiet sigh of shame leave his lips. In the end, he did know that he was being pretty selfish in this whole situation. To everyone, really. He'd made Sanghyuk uncomfortable and made his boyfriend angry, he'd left Taekwoon and Wonshik wondering if everything was okay between them.

And now this.

Next time something may happen that he doesn't like, he decided, he'd just get through it himself. Even if it sucks.

Finally, he gathered up the courage to roll his head over and look next to him again, to look the sleeping boy beside him in the face.

He looked so peaceful, but Hakyeon was more than sure he'd put him to trouble. This whole situation was a real mess.

Luckily or unluckily, (he wasn't really sure which) that was about the moment when the eyelids of the brunet beside him fluttered open, revealing two pretty almond eyes staring back into his with familiarity, and there was a moment where they just looked at each other without saying anything.

And then, eventually, the younger boy opened his mouth to speak casually, as if they weren't in an unusual or awkward situation in the slightest, almost as if things were like this every day. "Morning, cutie," he murmured, reaching out to give Hakyeon bunny ears for a second, probably to try and make him smile, Hakyeon guessed.

He searched his mind all the while at the words, face concentrated as he tried his hardest to summon the memory of how he'd actually gotten here by looking deep into the calm expression across from him, but try as he might, he just couldn't remember.

The boy next to him smiled sadly, easily able to figure out what was going through his head just from his face. He really did know Hakyeon well. "You forgot what happened, didn't ya?" he asked knowingly, patting the older boy on the shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Jaehwan," Hakyeon told him sincerely, not really sure what to do, because he really was sorry. He didn't want to trouble him.

"That's okay, cutie. I forgive you," the younger boy assured him lightheartedly, giving him another affectionate pat on the shoulder. "Your shitfaced self called me up last night. You were having a lot of trouble saying 'sleep' for some reason? Anyway, you asked if you could crash at my place, so of course I said yes."

Hakyeon took a glance down, eyeing over his body to find that he was still in his clothes from yesterday. In a word, he felt shitty. There just wasn't any better way to say it. Jaehwan shouldn't have to deal with this. "I'm really sorry. I'll get out of your hair," he told him, using his arms to lift himself out of bed.

But apparently, Jaehwan didn't quite see it that way. "No, no, stay for a bit," he protested amicably, gently trying to coax him back using the hand that was still placed on his shoulder. "I like your company. Plus, no one's ever here; I'm starting to feel like a caveman," he remarked, finally letting go of Hakyeon as he sat up in bed and climbed out to the floor with a squeak of the mattress.

"Are you sure?" the older boy asked, running a hand through his messy hair.

"Of course I'm sure," Jaehwan returned, unwavering, and Hakyeon supposed that was pretty much as clear and honest an answer could get.

Jaehwan opened his closet up, sifting through for a moment before pulling out a large black t-shirt that was somehow wrinkled up beyond belief, along with sporting a small tear at the bottom.

He supposed Jaehwan was never the most neat person. But then again, Hakyeon himself had been the one to rip that shirt.

It wasn't possible that he might have been trying to hint at something. Was it?

He shook his head subtly to himself. _Snap out of it. You're overthinking things._

He looked away from him, shifting in his position. "Do you want me to leave the room while you, uh..."

There was a tiny pause, but Hakyeon never finished his sentence, so Jaehwan spoke up. "Why would I ask you to do that?" he questioned, seeming rather amused by Hakyeon's reaction. "This isn't anything you haven't seen before."

Hakyeon rolled his eyes, still looking away but now with a pink tint on his cheeks. "Jaehwan," he groaned.

"Just being honest."

Despite his embarrassment, though, Hakyeon couldn't actually bring himself to get up from his comfortable spot on the mattress, so Jaehwan just went about his business for a minute or two, grabbing a brush to run through his hair so it was out of his face and picking up a jacket that was hanging on his bedpost before opening the window to let in the breeze.

Hakyeon sighed contentedly at the cool feeling as it swept through the room. He'd always liked when Jaehwan did that. Whenever he thought to open the windows at his own place, it always got too cold quickly afterwards, but for whatever reason it always felt pleasant on his skin and through his hair in Jaehwan's apartment.

"You hungry?" the younger asked casually, shuffling to the door, which he gestured for Hakyeon to follow him through.

"Hell yeah," he accepted enthusiastically (it was all too true, after all) as he hopped up, trotting over to follow Jaehwan out of the room. "Maybe even enough to eat your cooking," he added sarcastically.

Jaehwan stopped, turning around to arch an eyebrow at him.

"Too far?" Hakyeon questioned apologetically.

"No, I agree," Jaehwan returned, continuing on into the kitchen. "I'm like the Swedish Chef on crack."

"I always thought the Swedish Chef was on crack," Hakyeon snorted in response as they entered, stopping to slide the pads of his fingers over the cold, smooth countertop with familiarity.

Jaehwan gasped in mock offense. "That is discrimination!" he exclaimed dramatically as he made his way over to the fridge, opening up the door and taking a glance over his options. There was a moment of silence.

"You're like, fondling the counters again, aren't you?" the younger asked eventually, not even having to look back at him.

Hakyeon grinned in embarrassment. "They feel nice!" he remarked defensively, pulling his hands away to awkwardly slide them in his pockets.

"A _counter_ feels nice?"

"You'd never understand."

"Actually, if there were anyone to understand a weird habit, it'd be me."

Hakyeon nodded. "You do have a point."

He took his hands back out of his pockets subconsciously, sliding them back onto the counter and drumming his fingers. Although he knew why, he still found it a bit weird just how natural this whole thing felt.

So natural, in fact, that he'd almost forgotten why he was actually here in the first place.

Worrying his lip in between his teeth, he pulled his phone out of his back pocket, opened up his messages and pulled up a conversation that hadn't been opened in a few days.

_hakyeon:_ hey  
 _hakyeon:_ I'm sorry about what happened last night  
 _hakyeon:_ I don't even know what I was doing

"Oh yeah. Also," Jaehwan began, interrupting Hakyeon's thought to look over at him, though the fridge door was still open. "Sorry for falling asleep next to you half-naked. Probably wasn't the most decent thing for an ex-boyfriend to do."

"I mean, I guess not. But you're fine. It's not like it bothers me really," Hakyeon replied nonchalantly, shrugging as he slid his phone back in his pocket.

"Is that so?" Jaehwan joked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Yes. Now are you going to take something out of there?" he questioned, pointing to the wide open fridge. "Or do you just enjoy warm milk?"

"I don't enjoy milk," Jaehwan returned pointedly, reaching out to start collecting his materials off of the shelves and placing them in the counter.

Hakyeon rolled his eyes, still smiling. "I know. Unless it's in your cereal," he recited, knowing what would come next if Jaehwan continued.

The younger boy nodded at him as he finished setting down a half-full container of eggs, a package of cheese and another of ham on the counter. "That's right, cutie. Your memory is pretty nifty," he complimented.

For the first time in a year or so, as Jaehwan cooked them both breakfast, already knowing what Hakyeon would want, they both just talked. It was comfortable, more than Hakyeon had felt in a while. He enjoyed it, although every once in a while he'd mentally remind himself of the situation he was really in.

Soon, Jaehwan was finished, and he brought their plates over to the table, setting them down and inviting Hakyeon to sit down next to him.

They ate silently at first, mostly just because Hakyeon really was starving and so was Jaehwan, but it was the younger of them that eventually broke the silence.

"I have to be honest with you," he said.

As odd as that sounded in the totally peaceful, casual atmosphere, Hakyeon wasn't about to tell him no, and so he just nodded his head.

"I guess there was more than one reason I let you stay here," he confessed, playing with the fabric of his sweatpants almost nervously.

Hakyeon stopped chewing, running that sentence through his head again and furrowing his eyebrows.

Something was definitely up.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked guiltily. "If I caused you trouble, I'll seriously leave right now, no questions asked."

"No, no, I don't want you to leave," Jaehwan assured him, and just like before, he sounded pretty positive of that much. "In fact, it's kinda the opposite of that. I, um...I guess I should just be straightforward about this."

Hakyeon waited, outwardly patient, inwardly impatient. He waited for whatever this confession was to be, and the longer Jaehwan paused, the more he didn't understand.

"That's about as close I can get to being straight," the younger remarked after a while, his face unchanging, and Hakyeon couldn't help but grin a little.

" _Jaehwan_ , just say it," he laughed, feeling a weird mixture of amusement and concern as he gently elbowed him in the side.

The younger finally chuckled quietly, seemingly trying to find it in him to form the words. "I..." he began softly, making eye contact with a look that caused Hakyeon to question the atmosphere between them in pretty much all of the time he'd been there up until then.

_No, it couldn't be that..._

_That would never happen. Right?_

But I'm the next moment, Jaehwan was leaning forward slowly and wordlessly, taking occasional glances to see if Hakyeon was okay with what he was doing before he finally touched his nose to the older boy's, a tiny smile sneaking up on his face.

Hakyeon's eyes became wide as he felt the familiar warm breath ghost over his parted pink lips, as well as Jaehwan's fingers brushing over the small of his back lightly, easing him in just the tiniest bit closer.

"I want you back."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was bullshit please forgive me lol
> 
> I'm sorry it's so short too, I'm just having a really hard time writing this fic ;-; I hope you enjoyed though. See you soon! c:


End file.
